CALEDONIA — The National Weather Service has confirmed that Monday’s tornado was rated an EF-2 with wind speeds up to 135 mph.

The tornado hit at 3:04 p.m. about ¼ mile southwest of the intersection of Argyle and Harlem roads. The tornado then carved a 16.4 mile path northeast that measured up to 200 yards wide. The tornado lifted around 3:23 p.m. about a mile west of Lawrence, according to the weather service.

3:50 p.m. About 80 left without power

CALEDONIA — About 80 ComEd customers around Caledonia are without power today, spokesman Paul Callighan said.

Callighan expects that the majority of those customers will have power restored before the end of the day. Some customers in the immediate area where the tornado hit will not be able to have power restored because of the severity of the damage.

ComEd is still working on removing fallen power lines from Harlem and Aberdeen roads. Harlem is expected to be cleared by the end of the day, Callighan said.

The company then moves onto the “long, tedious” process of replacing damaged power structures. There were 10 towers destroyed and another heavily damaged by the tornado. Several wood poles were also damaged by the storm.

12:08 p.m. Northern Illinois has ‘second season’ for tornadoes

CALEDONIA — Spring is tornado season, but in northern Illinois residents have a reason to expect volatile weather in late fall, too.

“It’s kind of our second season,” said Jim Allsopp of the National Weather Service. “You normally think of spring, being a transition from the warm season to the cool season. Similarly, you have kind of the same situation here, where we’re transitioning from the warm season to the cool season, where we can get the volatile weather as well.”

A tornado struck Monday in Caledonia, and teams from the National Weather Service are surveying the damage today. Caledonia Township Hall and two private homes along Illinois 173 were totaled by the tornado. Several more were damaged, including the main grain bin on Main Street, which was split down the side.

There have been 11 tornadoes in November since 1950 in north central and northeast Illinois. The last November tornado happened in 1984 in Will County, near Manhattan. That was rated EF-0, with no injuries or significant damage.

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“We’ve had almost as many significant tornadoes in November as we have in July,” Allsopp said. “We don’t get a whole lot in November, but it’s really not that unusual.”

Monday’s tornado was caused by a clash between record warmth and a cold front that came from the west. Rockford set a record high of 69 degrees on Monday, breaking the 1913 record of 67 degrees, according to the NWS.

“It was very similar to what we had in January 2008 in Poplar Grove. We had record temperatures that day in the mid-60s,” Allsopp said.

“Anytime you get very warm, humid conditions out of season — late November through February — that’s a red flag to us that bad things could come out of this.”

ComEd has brought in extra crews to fix power lines in and around Caledonia.

Callighan said ComEd has crews concentrated at Harlem and Aberdeen roads near the Winnebago-Boone county line after several transmission lines were brought down by Monday’s tornado.

“We will begin the assessment and start rebuilding those lines,” Callighan said.

Crews have access to Caledonia to help get electricity to residents whose homes have not sustained significant damage.

“We have been on scene since early this morning to get power restored back to those homes and businesses,” Callighan said.

David Pattengale, interim executive director with the American Red Cross Rock River Chapter, said they have staff and volunteers in Boone County assessing the damage and need to the area.

A shelter in Machesney Park was opened last night, but nobody utilized it, Pattengale said.

“We are going to continue to work with our government partners to see what role we will play,” Pattengale said. “As needs are made aware, we will look where we can help.”

8:19 a.m.: Caledonia closed as crews clean up

CALEDONIA — Boone County Sheriff’s officials say the village of Caledonia is closed to everybody except residents. The department did, however, lift a curfew which began at 9 p.m. Monday.

“We’re advising (people) to stay off (Illinois) 173 in the area of Caledonia,” said Boone County Sheriff’s Deputy and Emergency Response Coordinator Sandra Rogers.

Emergency responders and residents are cleaning up, while ComEd is working to restore damaged light poles around Quail Trap Road and Illinois 76, Rogers said.

The Sheriff’s Department advised Belvidere School District to close Caledonia Elementary School for the day. The school was already scheduled to be closed Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

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“We don’t want children to get hurt by debris,” Rogers said.

Poplar Grove resident Elizabeth Whiting’s two children, ages 7 and 11, attend Caledonia Elementary School. Her family, visiting this week, now have an extra day with the kids.

“Everything has been handled just fine,” said Linda Hill, Whiting’s mother who lives in Michigan. “If I hadn’t gotten here early, her husband would have taken the day off to be with the kids.”